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Many literary critics consider ATONEMENT to be one of the best novels of 2002. After finishing the book, the reason why is very clear. It is a beautifully written story of lost innocence where the actions of one individual will radically change her family's lives forever. Briony Tallis is racked with guilt for what she has done and she will spend her entire life trying to rectify the situation. Ian McEwen's latest novel is the closest thing you will find to perfection. It is a great literary masterpiece. It is the summer of 1935 in England and thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis is looking forward to her older brother's homecoming. She has an overactive imagination and puts it into good use by writing short stories and plays. On this particular summer day, her young cousins are staying over and helping her do a presentation of her play called The Trials of Arabella. Things go all right at first but Briony's imagination goes into overdrive. She misunderstands the relationship between Cecilia and Robbie, the son of a servant. These two are clearly in love but Briony is not sure what she sees. At one point she catches them in the library and at first thinks that Cecilia was assaulted. Later, when her cousin Lola is attacked, Briony points the finger at Robbie forever changing his life and causing irreparable damage to her own family. Jill Tanner provides the voice of the unabridged recording of Ian McEwen's novel and does an excellent job at it. She demonstrates this by providing the angst that Briony goes through at first when she was a teenager up to the point that she has grown into a young woman. The novel is divided into three parts each providing a backdrop to the main story line. The first part involves the fateful day in the summer of 1935 when there was a fear of a second world war. The second part involves Robbie's life since he has been out of prison and fighting the war. The last part involves Briony's life after the events of 1935 and what she does in trying to rectify the situation she created. It is a sad story filled with what ifs and what could have happened had things turned out differently. The author leaves the reader with plenty of surprises and ambiguities that will have everyone guessing. ATONEMENT is a good respite from the glut of police procedurals out there and it is a highly enjoyable read. It deserves the highest possible recommendation.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, February 2003
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